Re: RTFM Was: M-x goto-line binding

[Jari Aalto+mail.emacs]

* Sat 2001-01-06 thi <ttn@revel.glug.org> mail.misc
|
|    I think it would be worth think if a more appropriate buffer
|    were *text* in text-mode for one that opens Emacs without
|    any .emacs or customisations.
| 
| and i think something else.  so now, how do we move forward?

I don't know. Since it is the default and if .emacs is not
there Emacs picks the default. I asusme clean installation,
with no modifications.

I will reclaim that the first thing that an emacs starter,
who has no .emacs, will not start writing lisp. He may most likely
do something else. From that point of view, an text-mode based
buffer might be more aprpriate initial buffer.

Yes, it is historical, radical change, maybe the reluctance to give up
*scratch* is like removing identity from Emacs.  But is it a such a
bad change? Would it help Emacs be accepted better? I think that it
would, in the long run due to audience growth in W32 NT Emacs. 

| students to understand this, they will be much better students (and make
| your job easier, as i said before) in the medium to long run.

I'm not trying to make my job easier. I witness what I see 
happening for the total beginners, with zero Unix background. 
I can configure the class, but when they do homeworks at home 
and we've went step by step the Emacs installation procedure,
they are alone with it. It's a very little they remember form
the configurations even after 6 months.

My motivation to make these requests is to make Emacs more appealing
to the fist timers.  To make them get a grasp on best Editor, so that
they could remember it when they go to the full time job.

I would wish the changes might make this "learning process curse"
smoother somehow.

|   (browse-url "http://www.glug.org/people/ttn/software/ttn-pers-elisp/";)

Yes, this is already in my automatic update list :-)

-- 
http://tiny-tools.sourceforge.net/
Swatch Internet time http://www.ryanthiessen.com/swatch/resources.htm